How you can support our school

There are many ways that families and people from the community can get involved in the school and support our children’s education.

Building Fund Donation: an optional tax-deductible donation to the building fund is invited from each family.

Library Fund: we invite parents to make an optional tax-deductible donation to the School Library Fund.

The Grace Newberry-Dupé therapeutic Education Trust: For those families who are able, we ask that you consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Grace Newberry-Dupé therapeutic Education trust. This fund seeks to ensure that all children are provided with an equal opportunity to access the therapeutic curriculum at this school.

Friends of Waldorf (FoW): parents are encouraged to come together to build a strong social community within the school by attending festivals, supporting the school’s communication channels, participating in fundraising and other events and by joining Friends of Waldorf.

Tuck Shop: help to provide a nurturing, healthy lunch for the children each Friday. Consider getting together with one or two other parents to plan, prepare and serve a lunch on Fridays. Contact the school office for more details.

Building Fund

The Armidale Waldorf School owes its establishment and growth to the passion and generosity of our founder, Kit Wyndham as well as our community of students, teachers, parents and friends.

That former students send their children to our school is the highest honour, and a testament to the success of our programs.

Your donation will go towards funding the growth of our school and supporting the next generation of scientists, artists, innovators.

Our most recent funding projects include the library that was created using funds from a government grant. The library also serves as a meeting place for the school, and a space for special events like theatre and orchestral performances.

Plans for future contributions include refurbishing the science and technology rooms.

Because of the generosity of contributors in the past, our students have gone on to excel in high school and become productive, ethical members of society. With your support, the same great future will be available for today’s students.

To make a tax-deductible donation to The Armidale Waldorf School building fund, please donate here:

Gracie’s Gift: The Grace Newberry-Dupé Therapeutic Education Trust

Grace Newberry-Dupé arrived with her identical twin sister Isabella on 1st March, 1999. Grace was the youngest of five children. In terms of mainstream thinking, she was considered to be ‘profoundly disabled’. At the age of three, Grace was enroled in Boongaiai preschool at the Armidale Waldorf School for Rudolf Steiner Education where her siblings attended school. Grace had been non-responsive during previous attempts at mainstream “early intervention” programs, but at Boongaiai she truly embraced the activities presented to her. Like her fellow students, she was recognised as a ‘unique spiritual being’ with a life purpose, able to bring her special gift to the school community. Nurtured by the gentle rhythm which enfolds the children at Boongaiai and the inherently therapeutic nature of the curriculum, Grace was freed from expectation and enabled to give of her unique ‘gift’.

Grace passed away in July, 2003 at a time when the school was grappling with the lack of funding available to allow her supported enrolment at the Armidale Waldorf School. Despite the schools enthusiasm toward Grace’s enrolment, the shortfall in government funding was significant, and the ability of such a small school to realistically fund that shortfall over the long term was difficult to envisage. As Grace’s parents, we knew that, despite the fact that freedom of choice in education is a basic human right, this choice would be denied our child. It was a heartbreaking reality.

This process brought about a strong desire to ensure that no child should be denied an equal opportunity to fully access the therapeutic curriculum provided by the Armidale Waldorf School. Thus ‘Gracie’s Gift’ was conceived and this has now been formalised as ‘The Grace Newberry-Dupé Therapeutic Education Trust’. This Trust Fund is a reflection of a commitment to equity, and acknowledges the unique gift which each child and each family bring to a school community. A parent in the school summed this up beautifully when she said ‘I can’t tell you how important his friendship with Grace has been to my son. She will continue to be an inspiration in our lives and we will carry her in our hearts forever’.

The Armidale Waldorf School and Boongaiai Preschool can provide access to bursaries & additional support to enable equitable access to the curriculum through this fund. Applications for financial assistance can be completed on enrolment, or for those requiring on-going assistance, during term four of each year. Children requiring additional therapeutic support will be referred to the fund via the Class teacher and/or a treating Specialist in consultation with the child’s parent/guardian.

Donations to ‘Gracie’s Gift’ are also gratefully accepted.

Robyn Newberry & Kevin Dupè

On behalf of the board of trustees

If you are in a position to make a donation, please print and complete the donation form or click the link below: